Toronto ? Singing hymns and exchanging greetings in dozens of languages, Catholic youths from around the globe came to Canada for religious unity and to meet like-minded people from other cultures.

Most of all, though, they came to see and hear Pope John Paul II.

Unidentified pilgrims dance at a concert during World Youth Day festivities in Toronto, Ontario. Some 200,000 Catholics are expected to attend events during Pope John Paul II's visit to Canada.

The frail, 82-year-old pontiff arrived Tuesday to take part in World Youth Day festivities, thrilling the tens of thousands of young pilgrims by slowly descending the steps from his Alitalia jet despite crippling hip and knee problems.

“We believe this could be the last World Youth Day with this pope,” said Ariane Vieiraleite, 23, one of 3,000 pilgrims from Brazil. “He will be a messenger, a prophet for God.”

The pope rode a golf cart Wednesday morning along some of the tree-shaded trails of the remote island where he is resting for a few days, according to the Canadian Embassy to the Holy See. His first public event will be a welcoming ceremony today.

Crowds of young people thronged Exhibition Place on the shore of Lake Ontario to watch on giant monitors as the pope’s plane landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport miles away. They formed a sea of color, with flags from many of the 170 countries represented waving in the hot afternoon sunshine.

The pilgrims cheered when John Paul appeared at the door of the plane, then shouted encouragement and praise for his determined walk down the stairs, helped by an aide clutching his left arm.

Some aides have expressed concern that the 11-day trip, which will continue to Guatemala and Mexico, may be too challenging for a man suffering from the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and the hip and knee ailments.

But for the faithful, what matters is that John Paul is here.

“It’s not just physical presence, it’s his spiritual presence,” said Jeffrey Roman, 18, from St. Peter’s Youth Ministry in Olney, Md.

The pilgrims, most aged 16 to 35, have come for activities that include catechism classes with bishops, a welcoming ceremony with the pope, a re-enactment of the stations of the cross along a downtown avenue, and an all-night vigil followed by the final Mass on Sunday.

This year’s event will probably be the most lightly attended World Youth Day since John Paul initiated it in the mid-1980s. Millions attended similar events in the past in Rome, Paris and Manila, Philippines, compared to the almost 200,000 registered so far for the one in Toronto.

Vatican Radio said Monday the low attendance could be blamed in part on the sex abuse scandals that have shaken the American church since January and uncertainties about travel since the Sept. 11 terror attack.